Feeding device for presses or the like



Dec. 3, 1968 FR|Z ET AL FEEDING DEVICE FOR PRESSES OR THE LIKE 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 13, 19 7 I Filed June 15, 1967 Dec. 3, 1968 FEEDING DEVICE FOR PRESSES OR THE LIKE 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 H.A. FRIZ ETAL 3,413,916

Dec. 3, 1968 H. A. FRIZ ET AL 3,413,916

FEEDING DEVICE FOR PRESSES OR THE LIKE I Filed June 15, 1967 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 a if 11A U7. J

Inventor:

WWQI

United States Patent 7 ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A feeding device for presses or the like which comprises a'press including a press table, at least two carriers for goods to be conveyed to the press, means for moving both said carriers behind each other along the same movement path into the press, and means for driving the carriers separately from each other and including means for moving the carriers selectively into the same working position.

The present invention relates to a feeding device for presses or the like with at least one drivencarrier for the goods to be conveyed and movable at least along a path of movement, which carrier can be moved into working position in the press.

I Feeding devices are known (see German publication No. 1,189,543), which have a passing, endlessly running pulling means, as chains, on which a feeding sieve is provided, which corresponds to the size of the press table of thepress to be fed. The feeding sieve can be moved with the pulling means into working position, that means into the press and into loading position, that means to a point, at which the work pieces to be pressed can be disposed. The drawback of this feeding device resides in particular in the fact, that the pulling means and the feeding sieve, respectively, cannot be moved during the pressing process and, for this reason, that the loading of the feeding sieve cantake place only in timely coordination with the pressing step.

: In case of use of a continuous carrier belt as a carrier for the work pieces to be pressed, that part of the carrier belt disposed outside of the press can be loadedduring the pressing process; however, it is not possible to perform the loading from a position during the pressing, since, for, this purpose, the belt would have to be moved within the cycle of loading, and this is not possible because the carrier belt does not move during the pressing process. By this arrangement, a complicated working arrangement for the loading procedure results.

'In order to avoid this drawback, it has been attempted to preset a loading belt to the carrier belt coordinated to the press, which loading belt can be moved independently from thecarrier belt, and for this reason can be loaded also during the pressing procedure from one station. After the pressing process, the pressed work pieces are moved outside vofthe press by the carrier belt and newwork pieces to bepressed are received by the loading belt, which work pieces are then moved into the press. This structure is very cumbersome and requires much space and assumes a certain self-stiffness of the pieces to be pressed.

For such arrangement drives, turning rollers and belt control devices are required in a double number, compared with the above-stated devices. Furthermore, during the transfer of the work pieces from the loading belt to the carrier belt, difficulties occur, for instance, of such nature, that the work pieces are damaged.

It is one object of the present invention to provide a ice feeding device for presses or the like, wherein, combined with a simple structure of the apparatus, an easy feeding and loading is assured. In particular, the loading is to take place from one position, so that an automatic work ing process is-possible therefor.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a feeding device for presses, or the like, which is of a space-saving structure.

In a feeding device for presses or the like with at least one driven carrier for the goods to be conveyed, which is movable along a moving path, into working position in the press, in accordance with the present invention, at least two separately driven carriers, selectively movable into the same working position, are provided. By this arrangement, it is possible to load one carrier inde-. pendently from the other carrier, so that during the pressing process the work pieces disposed on one carrier, the remaining carrier or carriers can be moved within the loading station such, that from one position this carrier and these carriers, respectively, are loaded successively with work pieces. As soon as the pressing process is terminated, the corresponding carrier is moved out of the press, while the carrier which has been loaded before with non-worked work pieces is moved into the press. It is thus possible, without necessitating the transfer of work pieces from one to the other carrier, to load during the pressing process one or a plurality of carriers with non-worked work pieces.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a feeding device for presses or the like, wherein both carriers are guided on the same movement path disposed behind each other, so that a simple structure of the device results. In this case, the carriers cannot pass each other in opposite directions, but only in the same directions.

It is of particular advantage, if the movement path is designed as an endless path, so that the carrier, after leaving the press, can be returned in a moving direction equally directed to the loading station.

It is also suitable to dispose the upper part of the movement path at the level of the press table and the lower part below the press table, so that the carrier, after leaving the press table can be returned below the press table.

The structure of the device in accordance with the present invention can be further simplified, if the carriers are pivotally connected to separate, turning, pulling means.

In a further embodiment of the present invention, the pulling means of at least two carriers are guided over turning means disposed coaxially relative to each other, as for instance, turning wheels and/or drive wheels or the like, so that a simple mounting of this turning means, drive wheels, or the like, results.

The pulling means can be disposed in a space-saving manner it on both sides of the carriers one pulling means is provided always for each carrier and if the pulling means are disposed directly adjacent each other on each side.

In accordance with a further proposal of the present invention, the pulling means of at least two carriers are movable by means of a common drive, so that on the one hand, only one drive motor is required and, on the other hand, by means of this one driving motor both carriers can be moved separately. For this purpose, the pulling means of at least two carriers .are,in accordance with the present invention, connectable by means of couplings, whereby it is possible after the loading of one carrier to move the latter synchronously with that carrier into the press, which in turn is moved out of the press.

As carriers suitably bending-soft and elastic transport blades, respectively, are provided, which are, for instance,

of steel-sheets, textiles, synthetic material or a similar suitable material.

In a further development of the concept of the present invention, a feeding device of the type described above is furthermore designed such, that by simple structure all working methods, occurring in practice, can be performed, that the carriers are loaded within the shortest time and with careful treatment of the goods to be pressed in the respective stations and can be stacked in charges behind the press and that a premature emptying of the press is possible. This is brought about such, that three carriers for the goods to be conveyed are mounted for separate movement relative to each other. Thereby it is possible, to load the carriers in the respective stations and to empty the press after termination of the pressing time independently from all other functions of the feeding device. Furthermore, it is always possible to load a carrier, since always one carrier follows directly the completely loaded carrier.

In accordance with another feature of the present invention, the preferably blade shaped carriers are easily releasably pivoted to the separate pulling means with laterally projecting holders, so that a fast exchange of the individual carriers is possible.

In order to make possible a correspondingly fast stacking behind the press, a transfer station follows the carriers guided on the same movement path at the rear end of the movement path, seen in the direction of transportation, which transfer station is formed preferably by rollers disposed one behind the other, the goods to be pressed being released automatically during movement of the corresponding carrier over the rear turning means of the movement path.

In the feeding device, designed in accordance with the present invention, the loss times are reduced to the ex treme possible, namely to the times, which are required for the feeding of the carriers into the press. Furthermore, the press can be emptied prematurely, in case of an arrangement of three carriers movable independently from each other and without influencing the other working steps.

With these and other objects in view which will become apparent in the following detailed description, the present invention will be clearly understood in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a schematic side elevation of a feeding device disposed on a press and designed in accordance with the present invention;

FIGS. 2 and 3 are side elevations similar to that of FIG. 1, merely disclosing different positions of the feeding device;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the feeding device disclosed in FIG. 2, the press being removed for the purpose of better demonstration;

FIG. 5 is a schematic elevation of a second embodiment of a feeding device, in accordance with the present invention;

FIGS. 610 are diagrammatic showings of the individual working steps of the feeding device; and

FIG. 11 is a schematic top plan view of the feeding device disclosed in FIG. 1, the press being removed for the purpose of better demonstration.

Referring now to the drawings, and in particular to FIGS. 14, a first embodiment of a feeding device, designed in accordance with the present invention, is disclosed, which comprises two carriers 1 and 2 designed as transportation blades for work pieces 3, as for instance, chip members and chip blades, or the like, respectively. The carriers 1 and 2 are guided one behind the other along identical movement paths 4 which are defined by turning rollers 5 and 6.

On each side of the carriers 1 and 2, always two pulling means 7 and 8, respectively, guided over the turning rollers 5 and 6, respectively, in form of cords, chains or the like, are provided. The two outer pulling means 7,

, 4 which are guided over the turning rollers 5, are coordinated to the one carrier 1,which is secured to these pulling means 7 with corresponding connecting members 9. On the inner pulling means 8, which are guided over the turning wheels 6, the other carrier 2 is secured with corresponding connecting members 10.

The corresponding turning rollers 5 and 6 of the two pulling means 7 and 8 are disposed coaxially relative to each other. As it is clearly disclosed in FIGS. 1 to 3 of the drawings, the upper side 11 of the moving path 4 is guided through a press 13 between its table 14 and its press ram 15. The lower side 12 of the moving path 4 is disposed below the press table 14.

In the position shown in FIG. 1, the one carrier 1 is disposed in the press 13 when the press ram 15 is in closing position. The other carrier 2 is disposed within the range of the turning carriers 1 and 2 in the moving direction of the arrow 16, disposed in front of the carrier 1 and guiding from the lower side 12 to the upper side 11, which has a distance from the press table 14 about corresponding to the length of the carriers 1 and 2, respectively. In the direct vicinity of these turning means, the part of the carrier 2 disposed within the range of the upper side 11 of the moving path 4 is loaded with work pieces 3, whereby the carrier 2 is moved independently from the carrier 1 successively into the position of FIG. 2. After opening of the press 13 in accordance with FIG. 2, the pulling means 7 and 8 are coupled together by means of couplings (not shown) disposed, for instance, coaxially to the turning wheels 5 and 6, so that the carrier 1 is moved together with the completely worked work pieces in the direction of the arrow 16 out of the press 13 and the carrier 2 with the not yet worked work pieces 3 synchronously to the carrier 1 in the press 13, in accordance with the showing of FIG. 3 of the drawings. The carrier 1 transfers the completely worked work pieces 3 to a suitable device 18 having, for instance, rollers 19, within the range of the turning wheels disposed behind the press 13 in the moving direction of the arrow 16 and guiding from the upper side 11 to the lower side 12 and is returned below the press table 14, so that this carrier can now be loaded during the pressing process of the work pieces disposed on the carrier 2 in the described manner with not yet worked work pieces. During loading of the carriers 1 and 2, respectively, the latter is moved continuously, or stepwise, depending upon the work piece size and type, respectively, to the press 13.

Referring now again to the drawings, and in particular to FIGS. 5-11, another embodiment of the feeding device, designed in accordance with the present invention, is disclosed which has three carriers 1', 2' and 20, designed as conveyor blades.

The carriers 1', 2' and 20 are guided, being disposed likewise behind each other, along the identical movement paths 4' on pulling means 7', 8' and 22, respectively, which pulling means run over turning rollers 5', 6', and 21, respectively, which define the moving paths 4'. The two outer pulling means 7', which are guided over the turning rollers 5' are coordinated to the carrier 1, the'median pulling means 8' to the carrier 2 and the inner pulling means 22 to the carrier 20. For the securing of the carriers 1', 2' and 20 on the pulling means 7', 8' and 22, the carriers have at their forward and rear ends cross bars 9', 10 and 23, respectively, which are easily releasable at their ends by any known means (not shown) on the pulling means 7', 8 and 22, respectively.

The upper side 11 of the moving path 4 is here also guided through a press 13, as shown in FIG. 5, between its press table 14' and its press ram 15', whereby the lower side 12 is disposed below the press table 14.

In the position shown in FIG. 5 of the drawings, the carrier 20 is in loading position 24, that means in this position the carrier 20 is loaded with work pieces to be pressed. The carrier 2 is then disposed in the press 13, whereby the press ram 15 is arranged in its closing position. The carrier 1' is finally disposed in the waiting position 25 in the underside 12' of the moving path 4'.

After the work pieces disposed on the carrier 2' are pressed in the press 13', the carrier 2 is moved from the press 13 over the upper turning means, which is last in the direction of the arrow 16, into the position 26, whereby the finished work piece is released to a device 18 following directly the turning means 5, which device 18 comprises a plurality of rotatable rollers 19 disposed one behind the other.

In the meantime, the carrier 20 has been loaded with goods to be pressed, whereby it is in loading position 27 at the end of this working step. From this position, the carrier 20 is moved into the position 28, that means into the press position, whereby simultaneously the carrier 1 can be moved from the waiting position into the loading position 24 and the carrier 2' from the loading position 26 into the waiting position 25, as indicated in FIG. 8.

These workng steps are then continued as indicated in FIGS. 9 and 10 of the drawings such, that always one carrier 1, 2 and 20 reaches the press position.

The forwardmost roller 19' in the direction of movement of the arrow 16 of the receiving device 18 for the pressed pieces is disposed immediately behind the last turning means of the upper side 11' of the moving path 4' at the same height or level as this upper side 11', so that the finished press pieces are released automatically from the carriers to the device 18 during the movement of the carrier in advancing direction of the arrow 16.

While I have disclosed several embodiments of the present invention, it is to be understood that these embodiments are given by example only and not in a limiting sense, the scope of the present invention being determined by the objects and the claims.

We claim: 1. A feeding device for presses or the like, comprising: a press including a press table, at least two carriers for goods to be conveyed, means for moving both said carriers behind each other along the same movement path into said press, and

means for driving said carriers separately from each other and including means for moving said carriers selectively into the same working position.

2. The feeding device, as set forth in claim 1, wherein:

said moving path is an endles belt means and includes an upper side and a lower side.

3. The feeding device, as set forth in claim 2, wherein:

said upper side of said moving path is disposed at the level of said press table and said lower side of said moving path is disposed below said press table.

4. The feeding device, as set forth in claim 1, wherein:

said endless belt neans include separate pulling means for each of said carriers,

each of said carr ers is pivotally connected to the corresponding of said pulling means, and

turning means disposed coaxially relative to each other for each of said endless belt means.

5. The feeding device, as'set forth in claim 4, wherein:

one 'of said pulling means is coordinated to each of said carriers onjjopposite sides of the latter,

said pulling meanlfs for said carriers are disposed directly adjacent each other at each side of said carriers,

said driving meahs include a common drive for said carriers, and 3 coupling means for said pulling means for a selective joint drive of said carriers.

6. The feeding device, as set forth in claim 4, which includes: 31

a transfer station; comprising a plurality of rotatable rollers disposedi, parallel to each other and located at the rear end (if said movement path seen in the direction of cohveyance.

7. The feeding ddvice, as set forth in claim 6, wherein:

said moving path jjis an endless belt means and includes an upper side and a lower side, and

the forwardmost pf said rotatable rollers of said transfer station, seen in the direction of conveyance, is disposed directly adjacent to the last of said turning means and lat the level of said upper side of said moving path. j

8. The feeding deivice, as set forth in claim 1, wherein:

said carriers compirise conveyor blades.

9. The feeding deli/ice, as set forth in claim 8, wherein:

said conveyor blac es are steel-sheet blades.

10. The feeding cevice, as set forth in claim 8, which includes: 1 three carriers, mean for mountin g said carriers for independent movement relative toeach other,

said endless belt means having laterally projecting holder means pivotally connected to said respective endless belt means, and

said holder means are disposed at the front end and at the rear end 01 each of said carriers and easily releasably securec to said respective belt means.

BILLY J. WILHITE Primary Examiner. 

